In The Terrible Axe-Man of New Orleans, Rick Geary tells the story of the mysterious (and yes, unsolved) axe murders (duh) that took place in New Orleans (also duh) from 1918-1919. He starts with a short history of the city and some details about the era, so his chronicle of the Axe-Man murders ends up being especially atmospheric -- it made me feel like I was watching a dramatic recreation², complete with jazz soundtrack.

After telling the story (which includes some excerpts from the Axe-Man's letter to the press -- like Jack the Ripper, he listed his address from Hell), Geary speculates about What Really Happened, but ultimately, of course, the crimes remain unsolved.

Sometimes it's hard to write about something when all I really want to say is, HELLO, IT'S AWESOME! So. If you dig true crime, history, unsolved mysteries -- or just weird lesser-known stories from our past -- do yourself a favor and pick this one up.

I can pretty well guarantee that you'll like it.

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¹But, being a wimp, I love unsolved mysteries that happened a long, long time ago. That way, I don't have to stay up nights, worrying that somehow, that unsolved mystery is going to come my way. And, if I'm going to be completely honest, I did have a whopper of a nightmare about this book -- but I read the first half of it before bed, so it was totally my own fault.